Phonograph



PHONOGRAPH Filed Oct. 19, 1927 2 Shee'ts-Sheet l Hull IN V EN TOR.

June 16, 1931. JOHNSON v r 1,810,883

PHONOGRAPH Filed Oct. 19, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

Patented June 16,1931

UNETE stares PATENT DFFI CE ARTHUR A. 3021313023, F BR'IDGEPORT,CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO DIGTAPHONE COR- ]?ORATION, 0F BRIDGEPQRT,CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK rnonoenarn Application filedOctober 19, 1927. Serial No. 227,123.

inoperative when that condition exists, so that the operator will notattempt to record matter on a record when the record rotating means 1s,for any reason, incapable of rotatmg the record, in which case, ofcourse, no recording could be effected.

lfhile this failure of the machine is rare, yet it may result when thesupply of electric current to the mandrel rotating motor is interruptedby the burning out of a fuse, the

': disconnection of an attachment plug, the

breaking of a wire, or the breaking of the motor circuit by a switch;when the motor itself is burnt-out or its armature is frozen in thebearing, or the brushes become inoperative; or when thedrivingconnections for the motor are disconnected or inoperative. Andwhen the machine does so fail to record, the operator, being unapprisedof the fact, may dictate for a protracted period without recording, thuswasting his time and energy,

and necessitating. repetition of his statements with the same force andeifect which is a difficult and trying task, as is well known.

According to the present invention, the op erator is warned that themachine is not running when he attempts, as is the practice and custom,to start the mandrel rotating by pushinga button or pedal at the momenthe desires to record. The operator may be warned. in several ways,within the scope of this invent-ion, for instance by the button beinglocked against operation, or by a signal rendered operative by operationof the button when the machine is not running.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate one form ofthe presentinvention- Figure 1 is a rear view, partly in section,

of a dictation machine, with the present invention applied thereto, withthe parts in the positions they occupy when the machine is in runningcondition.

Fig. 2 is a sectional side view, taken on the line 22 in Fig. 1, andshows parts in the positions they occupy when the machine is notrunning. 7 V Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the operating partsof this invention.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional'view of the switch operating leverlocking device, taken on the line 3-3 in Fig. 2.

The dictation machine shown in the accompanying drawings comprises amain frame 9, the lower portion of which is in the form of a flat platewhich serves as a cover for the casing 10, and the upper section ofwhich supports upper and lower guide rods 11 and 12 upon which asoundbox carriage 13 is adapted to slide to and fro longitudinally ofthe machine to carry a sound-box 14: over thesurface of the record.

15, mounted on a record-support 16 having a shaft 17 rotatably mountedin a housing 18 forming part of the main frame 10.

Longitudinal movement of the carriage 13 and sound-box la over therecord surface is I accomplished by a rotating fecdscrew19 engaged witha feed-nut 20 carried by the carriage13. V

'The sound-box 14 is, as usual, provided with a recording stylus 21 andareproducing stylus 22, and is adapted to be conditioned for eitherrecording or reproducing or neither recording nor reproducing, byoperation of the control lever 23.

Sound is collected and transmitted to the sound-box 14 by means of aspeaking tube 24 connected with a sound-box casing 25' at one end, andhaving at its other end a handle 26 provided with a'mouthpiece 27, as

shownin Fig. 2. Thus, when the operatordictates, sound is received bythe mouthpiece 27 and passes through thetube 24 to the sound-box 1awhere it-actuates the recording stylus 21 which, in turn, cuts helicalsound grooves infthe record while the record-sup portjrotates and thecarriage and sound-box moves over the record-surface.

In the construction shown, movement of the carriage 13 and rotation ofthe record support 16 is'effected by means of a driving device, such asa rotating pulley 28, which is loose on the mandrel shaft 17. but whichcan be operatively connected therewith by a clutch 29 actuated by meanshereinafter described. This pulley 28 is driven through a connectingbelt 30 by an electric motor 31 supported on the flat plate portion ofthe main frame 9 and concealed within the casing 10.

The electric motor is supplied with electric mrrent by a pair of wires32 connected to a removable attachment plug 33 which fits in a socket 34mounted on the dictation machine. From the socket 34, a lead wire 35 maybe,

as shown, connected directly with the motor 31 and the other lead wire36 connected with a switch 37, and from the switch a lead wire 38carries the current to the motor to complete the circuit.

This switch is provided so that it may be made inoperative from a pointon the machine without interrupting'the main source of supply, and may,of course, be of any suitable type; but, as shown in F ig. 1, comprisescontacts 39 and 40 connected to the leads 6 and 38 respectively, and thecircuit is closed by movement of a spring supported plunger 41downwardly, until the bridge 41' closes the gap between the contacts 39and 40.

As usual, in order thatthe motor will automatically be stopped when themouthpiece is placed on a supporting lever 42, the lat ter, which ispivoted on the stud 43, is pivotally connected at 44 with a verticallymovable lever 45 provided with an arm 46 which engages the switchplunger 41. The vertically movable lever 45 is also provided with anextension 47 which passes through an aperture in the main-frame where itis provided with a spring 48 which tends to force the lever 45downwardly to operate the plunger 41, and connect the switch to startthe motor when the mouthpiece is taken from the supporting.

lever 42, yet allows upward movement of the lever 45 and plunger tobreak the circuit in the switch, when the mouthpiece is again placed onthe supporting lever.

To lock the supporting lever 42 against accidental displacement and thushold the switch in ofl position when the machine is not in regular use,as at night, a plunger 49 is slidably mounted in a stationary bracket 50and is adapted to be moved into an aperture 51 in the supporting lever42 to hold it down.

In order to control the starting and stopping of the dictation machine,so that the ma- The clutch is usually operated from the handle 26, whichis provided with a manually operable button 59. The latter may, as

shown herein,be connected to the relatively moving parts and 61 of theBowden-wire 62' which passes through the speaking tube 24, and from thelatter rearwardly and down- 'ward l y to a boss 63on'the housing 18where the outer member 60 of the Bowden-wire 62 is anchored. At thispoint, the inner member 61 of the Bowden-wire is connected to a plunger64 which is slidable in an aperture of the boss 63' and has its frontend in en-' gagement with'a beil-crank65 pivoted at 66, and having anarm 67 adapted to engage an arm 68 on the clutch shifting yoke 53. Thus,when the manually operable button 59 is pushed inwardly in the formshown, the innermember 61 is moved relative to the outer member 62 ofthe Bowden-wire, and this movement causes the plunger 64 'torock thebell-crank 6'5 and this rocks the yoke 53 which shiftsthe clutch 29 tocause the mandrel and feed-screwto rotate. p y

" In the regular use of the machine, this manually operable button 59'isintermittently operated many times so as to save space on the record 15during pauses in dictation, while the operator arranges data, or forother similar causes. lViththis construction, it is necessary fortheoperator to'give some attention to the machine to ascertain that thedriving means are operating (failure of which might result from motorbreak-down, belt breakage, locked switch lever, failure to supplyelectric current, or from other causes) for he might otherwise operatethe button 59 and dictate, assuming that the driving means areoperating. a 3

.Now, in order to accomplish one of the principal objects of thisinvention, namely that of preventing the operator from using the machinewhen the machine is not in operating condition, as would be the case iffor any reason, such as stated above, the main pulley 28 or drivingmeans is not rotating, the present invention provides, in the formshown, means for locking the button 59 of the stop-and-start controldevice against operation.

This locking of the control device is effected,in the specificembodiment of the invention herein disclosed, by providing a spider 69mounted on the mandrel shaft 17 adapted to engage the pulley 28, andhaving an arm or extension 70 which passes through a slot 71 in the boss63, so that a locking end 72 is in position to be moved into an annulargroove 73 in the plunger 64 which forms a part of the inner member 61 ofthe Bciwdcnwire 62.

This spider 69 is provided with aiplurality ofresiliei'it legs 74 havingfeet 75 which fric-' a lock-screw 7 9. The spideris backed bya collar 69on a sleeve 28 of the pulley 28.

With this arrangement, rotation of'the pulley 2S on the shaft 17 in thedirection of thearrow, as shown in Fig. 2, causes the spider to'moveclockwise against the pressure of a spring 80. Pressure of the spring 8Orelative tothe spider 69' is regulated by having the side of the spiderextension m angularly disposed relative to the plate portion of the mainframe which supports the spring and by providing a slot (not shown) inthe base portion 81 of the spring, sothat when the spring is moved tothe right, as viewed in Fig. 1', the pressure is decreased and whenmoved to the left it is increased When the desired pressureis'obtained,the"spring is held in place by a screw 82. r

"Clockwise movement ofthe spider caused by pulley rotation moves thearmdownwardly, depressing the spring until the arm 70 engages the bottomof the slot 71, in which position it ismaintained' dueto the continueddragging of the spider 69 by the pulley disc 77. .Thus, wliilefthe'pulley re vnlves", thelock'ng end 72 of the extension is moved clear ofthe annular slot73 in the plunger 64, thereby permitting operation ofthe start-and-stop device through the" button '59. j p v V However, whenthe pulley 28 stops rotating, i. e., becomes stationary, the spider 69is moved counterclockwise by action of the spring 80, the pressure ofwhich is strong enough to rotate the spider, pulley and motor armature,and thus moves the spider extension 70 and its integral locking end 72up wardly' into theannular groove 73 of the plunger 64, as shown'in Fig.2, to render the clutch operating mechanism inoperable and to lock theplunger 64 ZigtllIlSl'flDOVElTlQlli] through the button 59.. The button59, being thus rendered inoperable, serves as arpositive and effectivesignal to warn the operator that the machine is not running.

According to the present invention, the warning could be given theoperator in any other way than that suggested. However, it is extremelyadvantageous to warn the operator that the machine is not functioning bylocking the button 59 against operation at such time. This button, itshould be remembered, is operated intermittently at frequent intervalsduring the course of dictation, and hence, should the machine fail whiledictating, the button will .be locked against subsequent depression assoon as it has beenpermitted to return to stopping position whichhappens quite frequently. The groove 73 in the plunger is, of course,beyond the range of the locking portion 72 of the spider while thebutton is depressed. But, as soon as thebut ten 59 is released, theplunger 64 moves to the right as viewedinFigiQ, and that-allows thelocking portion 72 of theplung'er-to move up into the locking grooveunder the impetus of the spring 80. r V r While an electric motor hasbeen described herein, it should be understood that a spring motor, orother driving-means, may be used.

Thus it will be seen that if the pulley should fail to rotate atany timebecause of inadvertent failure-to supply electric current to the motor,breakage of the power trans mitting means or belt, breakdown of theelectric motor, or for any other cause, the

present invention provides a very simple and efiicient means to preventoperation of the button for controlling the starting and stopping'of themachine, and effectively warns the operator that the machine lS'IlOt' 1noperating condition.

.. Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of thisinvention, and pertions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and forwhich it lS'ClGSlieCl to obtain Letters Patent, 1's:

1. In a dictation machine, the combination of machine driven means;rotating machine driving means; a start-and-stop device tointermittently connect thedriving and driven means; and meansoperatively related to the driving meansto permit operation of the toprevent operation of the manual opera in start and-stop device when thedriving I means when'the driving means'is iiiopera-- tivc. I i I i. In adictation nachine, the combination of drivlng means; dIlVCIlDJQfiIIS; astartandstop device to cause connection ofthe driving means with thedriven. means; andineans coiitrolled by'the driving means .to lock saidstart-and-stop device against operation when the driving means isinoperat1ve.

"5..In a dictation machine, the combination of driving means drivenmeans a control device remote from the machine comprising. a I hand-heldpart; manuallyl operable means supported by i said part; and means forpreventing operation of the manually operable means on the hand-heldpartwhen V the driving means is'inoperative. l

6. In a dictation machine, the combination of driving means; drivenmeans; a relatively remote control device .to connect and disconnect thedriving means with the driven means; and means controlled by the drivingmeans to prevent operation of the relatively remote control device whensaid driving means is inoperative. j In a dictationmachine,the'combination of driving means; driven means; a clutch to connect thedriving means with the driven means; a co'ntroldevice to actuate theclutch comprising a Bo-wden-wire; and means controlled by the drivingmeans for locking the Bowden-wire to prevent operation of the controldevice when the driving means is .inoperative. 5 7 8; In a dictationmachine, the combination of driving means; driven means; a controldevice; and means frictionally engagingthe driving means forpreventingoperation of thercontrol device when inoperative. g

'9. In a dictation machine,:the combination of machine driving means,fadriven means; a control device; means comprising a spider in frictionalengagement with and controlled by the driving means; a spring, saidspider and spring adapted. to prevent operationof the control devicewhenlthe driving means is inoperative; and means foradjusting thefriction between the spider and the driving means; r 10. In a dictationmachine, the rcombina tion of machine'driving means comprising arotatablymounted pulley 1 driven means a control device; means.related'to'the control the driving-means is device comprising aspider'in engagement l with and controlled by said pulley for allowing.operation of the control device when the pulley is operative; andaspring for moving said spider and drivingmea-ns to prevent operation ofthe control device when the driving means is inoperative.

11. In a dictation machine, the combination of machinedriving meanscomprising a rotatablymounted pulley; driven means; a control device;means related to the control device comprising a spider in engagementwith and controlledby said pulley for allowing operation ofthecontrolidevice when the pulley is operative; a spring; formoving saidspider and; driving means to prevent operationofrthe control devicespider. 0' a i 12. In a dictation mach1ne,driv1ng means;

warn the operator that the machine is inoperative:

the motor is interrupted at'the source or by movement of the switch toofi position-,or

'when the driving connections between the motor and the driven shaft areinoperative. 14. In a dictation machine, the combination of an electricmotor; a driven shaft;

driving connections between the driven shaft and the motor comprising amanually ope'r: able ,clutch mechanism; and means for pre ventingoperation of saidmanually operable clutch mechanism when said motor isinoperative 1'5.v In a dictation machine, V-the combinaktion 'ofanelectric motor; a' driven shaft;

driving'connections between the driven shaft and the motor comprising amanually oper- I able clutch mechanism; a ,motor switch; means forlocking the motor switch 1noifl position; and meansvfor preventingopera= tion of said manually operable clutch mechanism when said motorswitch is lOcked'in ofPposition, V

I 16. Ina dictation machine, the comloina tion of a motor a drivenshaft;driving connections between the driven shaft and: the motor'comprising amanually operableclutch mechanism and a driving belt ;1and means forpreventing operation of, said manually operable clutch mechanism whensaid belt is inoperative.

'17. In a dictation machine, the combina' tion of driving meansandmeanscomprising a friction clutch to warn the operator when thedri'vingmeans is inoperative.

18. In a dictatlonmachme, the combination of adriving wheel; and meansfrictions i .ally engaging said driving wheel and nor.-

.mally occupying a one position when the driv-- ing wheel isrotating;andanother position when the driving wheel is not rotating.

Signed a] Bridgeport, in the county-of Fai'rfi'eld and State ofConnecticut, this 18th -dayofOctober,'1927.-

ARTHUR A. JoHNsoN.

when the driving means ls inoperatlve; and means for ad nst- 1mg thepressure of the springrelative-to the

